Carolyn Cooper | A fisherman never says his fish stink

There’s quite a stink in Discovery Bay. And it’s not the stench of dolphin excrement. The operators of the Dolphin Cove at Puerto Seco Beach are threatening to take legal action against concerned citizens who have been reporting the negative impacts of the dolphins now penned up in the bay.

Earlier this year, two vocal residents of Discovery Bay received almost identical letters, dated June 27, 2019. They came from Hylton Powell, an attorney-at-law, who stated, “We represent Guardsman Hospitality Limited, the owners and operators of the Puerto Seco Beach Club at Puerto Seco Beach in the parish of St Ann”.

The subject of the letters was, “Public statements in relation to the Dolphin Facility at Puerto Seco Beach”. Powell referred to “allegations and innuendoes” published in The Gleaner and The Observer about his client.

These included the following:

“ a. Ignores or fails to administer the proper treatment of dolphins;

b. Places the economic gains to be made on the operation of the dolphin facility over the environment and the welfare of the dolphins;

c. Has either participated in or benefited from a willingness by the relevant government agency to fail to follow up or to intentionally ignore the proper scientific and consultative process required; and

d. Has either engaged in or benefited from some procedural impropriety”.

Powell argued that: “Whether taken individually or together, these meanings have negatively impacted our client’s reputation and damaged its business”.

NO RETRACTION OR APOLOGY

Powell asserted that his client denied all the allegations and innuendoes. He issued this ultimatum: “In the circumstances, we FORMALLY DEMAND an immediate and complete retraction and apology, and an undertaking that you will not make these or similar statements in the future. We also invite you to confirm that you are prepared to enter into discussions with a view to compensating our client for the losses and expenses it has incurred, including legal costs.”

After consulting their lawyers, the ‘defendants’ did not retract their statements or offer an apology. They also declined the invitation to discuss compensation.

They were not fazed by Powell’s threat of legal action: “If we do not receive written confirmation by the end of business on Thursday, July 11, 2019 that you will comply with this demand, our client will institute such proceedings as may be necessary to protect its legal rights without further notice to you.”

Unlike many citizens who won’t speak out in public for fear of reprisal, an assertive resident of Discovery Bay sent an open letter to Peter Knight, CEO of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). It was published in The Gleaner on October 26 with the headline, ‘What is NEPA doing about discovery bay?’

The letter began on a quite pleasant note: “Congratulations on being honoured for your work in the environmental sphere!”

Then it took a less favourable turn. It focused on the recurring concerns of the Discovery Bay Community Development Committee: “Since the dolphins’ arrival, our bay is seeing signs of pollution. One of our members who went to the beach early in the day this week took a video of the beach nearest the dolphin pens. What appears to be dolphin faeces can be seen on the sand in the water. Early-morning swimmers at 6:00 are getting worried, as the water at that time is cloudy, smelly and sometimes the sand is slimy. Several people with sensitive skin have developed skin rashes after a short time in the water”.

‘MESSY CLAIMS’

On Wednesday, November 6, an article was published in The Observer with this headline, ‘Messy claims land Discovery Bay CDC in trouble’. It reported a renewed threat of legal action against the Community Development Committee: “The management of Puerto Seco Beach has indicated that it is taking steps to file defamation suits against members of the Discovery Bay Community Development Committee (CDC) for what is described as their role in spreading falsehoods and untruths about the property”.

General manager of Guardsman Hospitality, Laura Heron, is quoted in the report: “‘We’ve actually lost business as a result of [their] claims,’ she continued, adding that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines cancelled a call on the facility in the wake of allegations the committee aired in the media on October 26’”.

Oddly enough, the management of Puerto Seco Beach does not appear to intend to take legal action against media houses that publish or broadcast allegations made by the CDC.

Challenging the CDC’s claim that the water quality in the bay is deteriorating, Ms Heron announced that, “Dolphin Cove does its own water-quality testing and they have got excellent reports on water quality.”

Who is this “they”? Shouldn’t it be “we”? And can Dolphin Cove really grade itself objectively?

Furthermore, the article revealed that, “The Observer requested copies of some of the water quality reports from both Dolphin Cove and NEPA but had not received any up to late last evening”.

This is not reassuring. Where is the evidence?

Fisherman never seh him fish stink. Same so, Guardsman Hospitality nah go seh dolphin doo-doo a mess up Discovery Bay.

- Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com